The meeting was called to order at 10:45 a.m. in the Carriage House with committee members Matthew Clay, Janet Gubbins, Tom Beggs, Barbara McKenzie, Melanie Clay, Christy Talley and Paul Smith, in attendance.

Melanie Clay started the meeting and briefly reviewed the Agenda. Clay (Melanie) stated that were two items on the agenda for today’s committee meeting:

Review and address SACS' evaluation of our responses to previous SACS recommendations, from letter to President Sethna.

Melanie Clay led the group in reviewing the letter sent from SACS to Dr. Sethna, including SACS follow-up recommendations to our responses (see SACS follow-up letter). Melanie explained to the group how sections 4.2.5, 4.3.6, 4.8.10, and 5.4.1 recommendations were made so that SACS could ensure that we will continue to conduct our new research and student service programs as promised.

Melanie reported that section 4.5 (recommendations 5 & 6) was confusing, and that Dr. Hynes is contacting a SACS representative for clarification. Melanie explained that it is unclear whether SACS is looking for distance learning goals of the institution, the academic programs, or both.

Melanie Clay led the group in reviewing the Distance & Distributed Annual 2001-2002 report and asked for suggestions for improvement, regarding the Departmental Statement of Outcomes, Processes to Assess These Outcomes, and Assessment Results Where Appropriate. The following suggestions were made:

For Goal 1: Matthew Clay suggested that faculty issues that are addressed be Goal 1 be included. Barbara McKenzie suggested faculty satisfaction or technology competency, as examples. Melanie Clay asked if one outcome might be achieving growth of the program, in order to meet student demands. Melanie asked how this would be measured and suggested though student focus groups.

For Goal 2: Matthew Clay suggested one result being the implementation of a disaster recovery and back-up plans for distance courses. Melanie added 'improved accessibility' as an outcome of Goal 2.

For Goal 3: Paul Smith suggested that one outcome be equal student services for distance students, as compared to on-campus services. Matthew Clay added that we need to make sure that students are aware of the services available to them.

For Goal 4: Barbara McKenzie suggested that we promote continual assessment - not just end-of-the-term assessment - of student satisfaction. All agreed. Janet suggested that anonymous mid-term feedback could best be gathered via WebCT's anonymous Discussion Board tool. Mathhew Clay suggested that the word "distributed" be taken out of Goal 4, because we do not assess distributed courses other than the standard university-wide tool.

For Goal 5: Paul Smith wondered how students find out about DE course offerings. We noted our website, the new "prospective students" link on the UWG website, and the marketing provided by Georgia Globe. Other than that, Christy Tally explained that marketing is done by individual departments or by word-of-mouth. Dr. McKenzie discussed her success with Epic Learning and suggested that HorizonLive seats expand to meet needs, when necessary. Melanie Clay agreed that the DDEC would purchase additional HL seats, as necessary.